THE  EQUITABLE  BUILDING 


DESTROYED  BY  FIRE  JANUARY  9— ]9J2 


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THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  FIRE 


AVERY 


THE  GREAT  EQUITABLE  FIRE 


N  Tuesday,  the  gth  of  January,  1912,  the  interior  of 
the  Home  Office  Building-  of  the  Equitable  Life 
Assurance  Society  of  the  United  States  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire. 

The  day  was  intensely  cold,  and  a  furious  gale  was  blowing- ; 
but  the  massive  walls  of  the  building-,  and  the  heroic  efforts  of 
the  firemen  —  gathered  from  all  parts  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn 
— saved  the  whole  lower  half  of  the  City  from  a  devastating: 
conflagration. 

The  following"  newspaper  extracts  tell  the  story  of  the  fire: 


THE   EQUITABLE 'S  HEAD  TELLS  OF  THE  FIRE 
From  the  AVa'  York  Times  of  January  12th 


"  I  was  called  out  of  bed  about 
morning,"  said  President  Day,  "  by  a 
message  from  one  of  the  watchmen. 
The  first  thing;  I  did  was  to  telephone 
to  the  Deteetive  Bureau  asking-  that 
suitable  protection  be  furnished  for 
the  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
securities  in  the  structure.  Then 
I  hurried  downtown.  I  took  up 
a  position  in  the  entrance  of  the 
United  States  Realty  Building,  im- 
mediately opposite  the  Equitable 
Building,  and  there  I  found  Police 
Commissioner  Waldo.  We  stood 
there  tog-ether  watching-  the  fire  and 
the  work  of  the  firemen,  getting 
reports  from  time  to  time  as  to  what 
was  going  on  that  we  could  not  see. 

"Word  was  soon  brought  to  us 
that  President  Giblin,  of  the  Mercan- 
tile Safe  Deposit  Company,  had  been 
trapped  We  were  told  that  lie  had 
entered  the  safe  deposit  premises  from 
the  arcade  inside  the  building  and  that 
his  return  by  this  route  had  been  cut 


6:30  o'clock  Tuesday 


SURROUNDING  SKYSCRAPERS 


3 


MAIN   ENTRANCE  TO   THE  BUILDING 


off  by  falling-  debris  and  fire,  and  that  the  only  way  to  get  him 
out  was  by  cutting  the  bars  that  gnarded  egress  to  the  street. 
We  could  see  the  men  at  work  sawing  the  bars. 

"  When  they  finally  got  Mr.  Giblin  out  I  said  to  him,  '  Keep 
up  your  courage,  old  man,'  and  he  moved  his  lips  in  response, 
but  I  suppose  he  did  not  know  me,  as  I  was  wrapped  up  in  a 
big  coat,  cap  and  ear  tabs. 

"In  the  meantime  I  had  been  joined  by  the  Comptroller  of 
the  Society,  and  I  said,  'The  Building-  is  doomed  and  we  must 
get  new  quarters.'    I  told  him  to  find  out  what  could  be  done, 

and  to  meet  me  at  our 


Hazen  Building  with  the 
others.  When  we  got  to- 
g-ether there,  we  had  three 
or  four  offers,  and  decided 
on  three  floors  in  the 
City  Investing  Building. 
Meanwhile  we  had  been 
hunting  up  Directors  and 
members  of  the  Executive 


I 


Committee,  as  we 
wanted  their  advice. 
We  held  a  meeting  at 
10,  and  by  10.30  these 
quarters  were  formally 
engaged. 

"The  Cashier  for 
the  Metropolitan  Dis- 
trict had  started  the 
routine  business  of 
the  day  in  the  Hazen 
Building  at  9  o'clock, 
disposing  of  the  morn- 
ing mail,  and  by  12  he  was  established  in  our  new  offices. 
During  the  day  he  told  me  that  he  had  taken  in  $25,000.  I  was 
established  in  my  office  by  1  o'clock,  and  we  went  ahead  with 
our  business,  with  the  flames  still  raging  almost  across  the  street. 

"  The  day  of  the  fire  the  medical  staff,  working  at  the  Hazen 
Building,  passed  on  more  than  260  cases.  Twenty-two  death 
claims  were  filed,  of  which  the  papers  in  three  were  defective. 
The  other  nineteen  were  paid  before  sundown. 

"I  was  here  till  after  II  o'clock  that  night,  and  the  whole 
administrative  staff  worked  till  early  in  the  morning." 


BUSINESS  CONTINUED  WITHOUT  INTERRUPTION 
From  the  Ar.  Y.  Times 

While  firemen  were  pouring  water  into  the  ruins  of  the 
building,  an  agent  wrote  one  of  the  largest  policies  the  company 
has  recorded  since  the  first  of  the  year.  It  was  for  $150,000, 
and  was  taken  out  by 
a  downtown  business 
man.  The  office  took 
charge  of  the  trans- 
action, and  the  first 
premium  was  paid  at 
1.30  p.m. 


While  the  officers 
and  employees  of  the 
Company  were  taking 
care  of  the  situation 
at  the  Home  Office, 


AN  ICE-COATED  ENGINE 


5 


ONE  OF  THE   HOOK   AND   LADDER    TRUCKS   AFTER  THE  FIRE 

the  agents  all  over  the  country  were  aiding  in  demonstrating 
the  fact  that  the  Equitable's  progress  cannot  be  easily  arrested. 

In  January,  the  month  of  the  fire,  the  new  insurance  written 
was  in  excess  of  that  written  in  the  previous  January.  The 
insurance  written  in  February  also  showed  an  increase,  and  the 
men  in  the  field  predict  for  the  entire  year  a  large  increase  over 
the  transactions  of  191 1. 

A    FAMOUS  STRUCTURE 
From  the  Human  Factor 

The  Equitable 
Building  was  a  giant 
in  its  day,  and  in  its 
youth  its  eight  stories 
towered  far  above  the 
other  buildings  of  the 
city.  It  was  so  far 
in  advance  of  its  time 
in  every  way  that 
for  many  years  it  at- 
tracted thousands  of 
visitors  and  tourists 
who   came   to  New 

WORSE  THAN  THE  NORTH  POLE  York. 


PROTECTING   THE  SECURITY  VAULTS 

Among  its  tenants  were  a  number  of  firms  and  financial 
institutions  of  national  importance.  These  tenants  and  their 
clients  had  securities  and  valuables  stored  in  their  vaults  which, 
tog-ether  with  the  Equitable's  securities  kept  in  its  own  vault, 
have  been  estimated  as  representing  over  a  billion  and  a  half 
dollars.  In  this  sense  the  building  was  the  greatest  business 
treasure-house  in  the  world. 

NOT  AX  UNMIXED  EVIL 
From  Leslie's  Weekly 

The  recent  destruction  of  the  Equitable  Building  by  fire 
looked  on  paper  like  a  loss  of  many 
millions.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  fire 
performed  a  service  for  the  Company. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  lot  is  now 
worth  more  without  the  building.  The 
remarkable  increase  in  recent  years  in 
real  estate  values  in  what  is  known  as 
the  financial  district,  made  this  building 
no  longer  an  asset.  Rentals  did  not 
equal  the  interest  on  the  value  of  the 
lot.  In  fact,  the  State  Insurance  Depart- 
ment at  Albany  insisted  that  the  building 
should  not  be  carried  on  the  list  of  assets 


7 


STREKT  CORNER 


of  the  Company.  The  destruction  of  the 
building  will  enable  the  Company  to  sell 
the  lot  at  an  increased  valuation  or  to  build 
a  new  one  that  will  give  suitable  financial 
return  on  the  valuation  of  the  lot. 

BRAVED   FIRE   FOR  RECORDS 
From  the  New  York  Times 

Tom  Long-field  is  of  English  stock,  and 
never  had  a  chance  to  show  the  fighting 
end  of  his  nature  until  he  left  the  Chambers 
Street  Ferry  and  saw  a  great  cloud  of  smoke 
over  Xew  York  on  Tuesday  morning.  Some 
one  told  him  that  the  Equitable  Building 
was  on  fire. 

Longfield  began  to  lope  with  that  long, 
swinging  stride  of  the  far  going  and  fast 
going  commuter.    He  reached  the  fire  lines 
and  a  policeman  shoved  him  back.    He  jan 
face  of  the  policeman  and  declared  that  they  r 
He  was  shoved  back  again,  but  he  was  used 
being  a  commuter.    He  kept  at  it  and  finalh 


gled  his  keys  in  the 
epresented  millions, 
to  bucking  the  line, 
-  got  through. 


The  office  of  the  loan  department  over  which  Longfield 
presided  was  on  the  second  floor  on  the  Pine  Street  side.  He 
found  a  battalion  chief  and  explained  in  a  few  words  the  fact  that 
he  was  the  custodian  of  papers  containing 
I      the  signatures  of  policy-holders. 

4  "  It's  all   up  there,"  said  Longfield. 

I      "Can  you  lend  me  a  short  ladder?' 

WHEvft  The  Chief  knew  that  the  man  talking 

jJ  *  to  mm  was  telling  the  truth.    Few  men 

W  ^'^Qifc  t.1      woUld  have  asked  to  be  allowed  to  enter  a 
caldron  of  fire.     He  ordered  the  ladder 
stretched  and  assigned  three  firemen  with 
a  line  of  hose  to  help  the  loan  custodian. 
The  flames  were  already  in  his  suite  of 
l.ifl        A'^H      offices,  but   the  nozzle  was  opened,  and 
'  v       under  Longlield's  direction  the  water  w  as 
11  played  so  that  about  his  desk  and  his  safe 

there  soon  formed  a  wall  of  ice.  Longfield, 
with  his  arctic  protection,  got  the  essential 
records  from  his  office. 


lo 


mm 


LOOKING  INTO  THE  RUINS  FROM  ABOVE 

HEROIC  WORK  OF  FIREMEN  AND  OTHERS 
From  the  Hitman  Factor 

The  loss  of  six  lives  was  keenly  deplored  by  every  one 
connected  with  the  Society.  Three  of  the  dead  were  employees 
of  tenants,  w  ho  were  killed  in  escaping  from  the  building".  The 
other  three  lost  their  lives  by  taking  chances  under  the  excite- 
ment and  stress  of  the  situation. 

These  men  died  in  the  conscientious  discharge  of  their  duty 
as  they  saw  it.  In  recognition  of  their  fidelity  and  heroism,  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Society  authorized  a  fund  for  the 
relief  of  their  families,  and  of  the  injured. 

Among  the  appropriations  made  was  one  to  pay  off  the 
mortgage  on  the  home  of  Fireman  Walsh. 

Extract  from  a  letter  from 
/'resident  Pay  to  tin- 
Mayor  of  New  York: 

"  We  are  especially 
moved  by  the  heroic 
death  of  Battalion  Chief 
W  illiam  J.  Walsh,  who 
gave  his  life  in  an  effort 
to  save  others. 

*  I  wish  also  to  testi- 
fy to  the  extraordinary 


11 


courage  and  devotion  to  duty  of  the  members  of  the  Fire  and 
Police  Departments  who  so  unflinchingly  faced  their  difficult  task 
while  suffering:  from  the  bitter  cold  which  prevailed  yesterday. 

It  was  a  most  gratifying-  and  inspiring  demonstration  of  the 
efficiency  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Fire  and  Police  Depart- 
ments, and  one  of  which  the  citizens  of  this  city  may  well  be 
proud." 

Extract  from  Mayor  Gaynor^s  reply  : 
"  The  people  of  this  city  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  the 
members  of  the  Fire  and  Police  Departments.    Their  heroism 
and  intelligence  is  of  the  highest  order.    We  can  rely  on  them 
in  all  emergencies,  and  also  from  day  to  day.    They  are  as  true 


as  steel  to  the  people  of  this  city 


SECRETARY'S  OFFICE 


The  death  of  Battalion  Chief 
William  J.  Walsh  is  lament- 
able, but  its  heroism  adds 
a  new  glory  to  the  Fire 
Department." 

LESSONS  FROM  THE  FIRE 
From  the  Outlook,  Jan.  27 

"  The  fire  was  one  of 
the  most  sensational  in  the 
history  of  New  York.  Yet 
out  of  this  appalling  disaster 
a  new  feeling  of  security  as 
regards  insurance  has  arisen. 
The  vaults  have  safely  pro- 
tected from  damage  the 
millions  of  dollars'  worth  of 
securities  and  other  docu- 
ments intrusted  to  them,  and 
the  Equitable  Company  it- 
self emerges  practically  un- 
harmed, its  assets  unimpaired, 
and  its  policy-holders'  inter- 
ests thoroughly  safeguarded. 
This  is  a  reassuring  exam- 
ple of  what  real  protection 
is  vouchsafed  to  members 
of  American  life  insurance 
companies  of  good  stand- 
ing. The  Company  has — 
leaving  out,  of  course,  the 


12 


unfortunate  loss  of  life — suffered,  not  a  disaster,  but  merely  an 
inconvenience.  Very  little  real  money  is  kept  in  a  life  insurance 
home  office.  Its  financial  assets  are  represented  by  papers  of 
almost  no  intrinsic  value.  Its  real  estate  deeds  and  mortgages  are 
all  merely  copies  of  other  papers  kept  by  State  and  Government 
authorities  where  they  are  recorded  ;  even  its  stocks  and  bonds 
are  merely  documents  which,  if  destroyed,  could  be  duplicated. 
So  far  as  the  records  of  its  policies  and  obligations  to  its  policy- 
holders are  concerned,  nearly  everything  of  this  sort  kept  in  the 
home  office  is  duplicated.  It  is  gratifying  that  policy-holders 
generally  were  so  little  perturbed  by  what  seemed  at  first  to  be — 
but  what  was  not — a  serious  menace  to  their  interests." 

SECURITIES  WORTH  $im,om,<KX)  MOVED 
From  the  New  York  Times  of  Feb.  5th 
Securities  valued  at  $300,000,000,  which  had  lain  in  the  big 
vault  of  the  Equitable  Life  Assurance  Society  since  the  fire  that 


13 


destroyed  the  build- 
ing, were  safely 
removed  yesterday 
under  a  strong-  po- 
lice guard. 

The  work  of 
removal,  which  w  as 
under  the  pers<  mal 
direction  of  the 
President  of  the 
Equitable,  was  be- 
gun promptly  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning ;  and  it 
was  after  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  the  last  vanload  of 
securities  was  deposited  in  the  new  vaults. 

Although  the  securities  were  removed  only  a  short  distance, 
the  greatest  precaution  in  safeguarding  them  was  exercised  by 
the  Equitable  officials.  There  were  fifteen  uniformed  policemen 
on  the  ground,  and  twenty-four  detectives,  and  while  the  work 
of  removal  was  in  progress  no  persons  except  those  having 
business  inside  were  admitted.  The  insurance  company  had  a 
large  clerical  force  on  hand  to  assist  in  the  work. 

THE  FAMOUS  SECURITY  VAULT 
From  The  Human  Factor 

This  vault  successfully  stood  the  test  of  twenty-four  hours 
of  fire  and  water,  and  the  strain  of  perhaps  a  hundred  tons  of 
falling  wreckage. 

THE  VAULT  WAS  BUILT  LIKE  THE  EQUITABLE — FOR  PROTECTION. 

The  Equitable  Society  has  stood  the  stress  of  wars, 
epidemics,  periods  of  excitement,  hard  times,  panics,  and  fire  — 
and  has  emerged  safer,  stronger,  and 

MORE  FIRMLY   FIXED   IN  PUBLIC  CONFIDENCE  THAN  EVER. 

For  half  a  century  it  has  led  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Insured 
in  the  war  against  want.  It  has  paid  hundreds  of  millions  of 
dollars  to  members,  and  to  mothers  and  children  in  the  hour 
of  their  greatest  need.  It  is  a  great  human  welfare  institution 
with  a  heart  and  soul.  Its  service  to  humanity  is  constantly 
broadening.    It  is  in  tune  with  the  American  spirit  of  progress. 


14 


THE   K  QUI  TABLE  SECURITY   VAULT  —  PRESIDENT  DAY 
AT  THE  ENTRANCE 


HISTORY  OF  THI-:  BITLPING 

The  Equitable  Society's  first  office  consisted  of  a  single 
room  in  a  small  four-story  building-,  at  Xo.  98  Broadway, 
opposite  Trinity  Churchyard. 

Its  second  offices  were  in  a  four-story  building  at  No. 
92  Broadway. 

The  original  Equitable  Building,  120  Broadway,  w  as  erected 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  Cedar  Street,  and 
occupied  less  than  a  quarter  of  the  block.  It  was  opened  on 
May  1st,  1S70.  Additions  were  added  from  time  to  time.  In 
1887  the  whole  structure  was  greatly  enlarged,  and  its  height 
increased  by  several  stories. 

The  present  offices  of  the  Society  are  in  the  City  Investing 
Building,  [65  Broadway,  corner  of  Cortlandt  Street. 

15 


